I think vote should be private by default, public by choice. Because I thought my votes were private to users at first.
I'm somewhat satisfied with the current system, it's a bit linear but still efficient.
I like how steam reviews added a [funny], [yes], [no] votes.
I imagine an optional vote feature after an upvote. So the user could say why they liked it by using [useful], [funny] or [relatable]. I know it won't match every posts or comments. Then use those three categories to optionally filter posts/comments (e.g. filter by most useful comments).
It took me a while to see that he doesn't have a hat.